October 2006 Meeting

Date: THURSDAY, October 19, 2006
Time: 6:00 PM
Place: US DOT/Volpe Center
55 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02142

Featured Guest: Stephen Owades - Reports on CEDIA's Best Consumer Products & Ira Leonard's CD Collection

CEDIA is an international trade association of companies that specialize in designing and installing electronic systems for the home. The association, founded in September 1989, has more than 3,000 member companies worldwide. CEDIA is a not-for-profit association based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 2006 trade show was held in Denver, CO. Steve Owades, a member of the BSO's Tanglewood Festival Chorus and an avid audiophile, attended the largest, record-breaking CEDIA trade show ever of over 28,000 attendees.

He will discuss:
1. The Thigpen Rotary Woofer from Eminent Technology, which uses variable-pitch fan blades to reproduce frequencies down to DC at high levels
2. The Smyth Virtual Surround for headphone listening, which uses a head-position tracking system to adjust the simulated soundfield to match the rotation of the user's head, soon to be available in a consumer product from Yamaha
3. The new prominence of "1080p" as a buzz-word and even sometimes in reality
4. Sony's new $5000 SXRD front-projector
5. HD images originating from HD-DVD and BluRay sources

Ira Leonard's brother has donated Ira's entire CD collection to the BAS. The 5,000 CDs consist of about 80% Jazz while the balance is mostly classical, including some SACD and DVD Audio. Some of the CDs will be on sale at the meeting for around $1.00 each. Most have are not opened. Also there are some Jazz VHS videos. More importantly, your input will be solicited on how to dispose of the collection to our members, music lovers, and simultaneously enhance the BAS treasury.